pewforum.org Publications

Publications

Explore Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts, legal reports and interviews—on an array of topics and issues at the intersection of religion and public life.

American Hindus To Celebrate a New Year
While the date of the Hindu New Year varies by region and custom, many Hindus celebrate in mid-April at home and in temples. According to a 2012 survey of Asian Americans, 85% of Asian American Hindus attend worship services at a temple at least a few times a year, and 78% have a religious shrine in their home.
Applying God’s Law: Religious Courts and Mediation in the U.S.
Across the U.S., religious courts operate on a routine, everyday basis. How do some of the country's major Christian traditions and other religions - including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism - decide internal matters and apply their religious laws?
During Benedict’s Papacy, Religious Observance Among Catholics in Europe Remained Low but Stable
When Benedict XVI was elected pope in 2005, religious observance among Europeans had been in decline for decades, and he set out to stem the tide of secularization. How successful was he? Pew Research polls indicate that during his papacy, religious observance among Catholics in France, Germany, Spain and Italy remained low but fairly stable.
The Contraception Mandate and Religious Liberty
On Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new rules for how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate applies to religious nonprofits, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. Church-state law scholars Ira C. Lupu and Robert Tuttle explain the new rules and the legal arguments that religious groups might make.
Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths
When it comes to religion, the Asian-American community is a study in contrasts, encompassing groups that run the gamut from highly religious to highly secular. A new survey report examines the Asian-American population from the angle of religious affiliation, highlighting the beliefs, practices and views of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, the religiously unaffiliated and other faiths. 
Mormons and Civic Life
 With a Mormon candidate in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, there has been intense media, academic and public interest in Mormons and their religion. The Pew Forum recently held a roundtable discussion with journalists, scholars and policy experts on some of the latest research on Mormons and their place in American society and public life. 
Public Divided Over Birth Control Insurance Mandate
Americans who have heard about the federal rule that would require employers to provide birth control as part of their health care benefits are closely divided over whether religiously affiliated institutions should be given an exemption. Sharp divisions of opinion exist on the issue by religious affiliation, party and ideology.
National Day of Prayer
A federal appeals court recently overturned a lower court ruling that had declared the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional. The day of prayer, established by Congress in 1952, occurs annually on the first Thursday in May, which this year falls on May 5.
Resources on Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, a 19-country survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, reveals that the vast majority of people in many sub-Saharan African nations are deeply committed to Christianity or Islam, and yet many continue to practice elements of traditional African religions.
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
The Pew Forum held a press luncheon with political science professors David Campbell and John Green on the topic of how religion both divides and unites Americans.
Post-Election Analysis: Politics in the Pulpit
A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that compared with 2006, fewer voters encountered information on parties or candidates in their house of worship, and only 6% say they were contacted by religious groups about the election campaign.
Can Civilization Survive Without God?
The Pew Forum invited brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens to address the question of whether civilization needs God.
U.S. Religious Knowledge: An Overview of the Pew Forum Survey, Results and Implications
The Pew Forum’s Alan Cooperman and Greg Smith, along with Boston University professor and author Stephen Prothero and Krista Tippett of American Public Media, explore key findings from a new Pew Forum survey on how much Americans know about religion as part of a panel discussion at a national symposium on religious literacy in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey
The Pew Forum’s religious knowledge survey included 32 questions about various aspects of religion: the Bible, Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, world religions, religion in public life, and atheism and agnosticism. The average respondent answered 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions correctly.
Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa
A new 19-country survey by the Pew Forum reveals that the vast majority of people in many sub-Saharan African nations are deeply committed to Christianity or Islam, and yet many continue to practice elements of traditional African religions.
Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the findings of a new 19-country survey, "Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa."
In Brief: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez
On April 19, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a case that will determine whether a public institution can refuse to officially recognize a religiously based organization that prevents those who do not share its religious and moral values from becoming voting members.
Religion Among the Millennials
By some key measures, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans. Yet in other ways, Millennials remain fairly traditional in their religious beliefs and practices.
How Religious Is Your State?
Which of the 50 states has the most religious population? Since there are many ways to define "religious," there is no single answer to this question. But to give a sense of how the states stack up, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life used polling data to rank them on four measures. 
Little Support for Terrorism Among Muslim Americans
Recent events such as the Fort Hood shootings and the arrest of five Muslim American students in Pakistan have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the U.S.  
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